Evangelist -
The
messenger carrying the Gospel, or word of Christ, to Christian.
Evangelist spurs Christian on his journey to the Celestial City.

Obstinate -
A
neighbor of Christian’s in the City of Destruction who refuses to
accompany him.

Pliable -
A
neighbor of Christian’s who accompanies him for a while. After falling
in the Slough of Despond, Pliable is discouraged and returns home,
only to be mocked by the townsfolk.

Help -
Fellow
pilgrim who helps pull Christian from the Slough of Despond.

Worldly Wiseman -
A reasonable and practical man whom Christian encounters
early in his journey. Worldly Wiseman tries unsuccessfully to urge
Christian to give up his religious foolishness and live a contented
secular life.

Formalist -
A
traveler whom Christian meets along the wall of Salvation. With
his companion Hypocrisy, Formalist sneaks over the wall, instead
of following the strait and narrow as Christian did.

Hypocrisy -
Formalist’s
travel companion.

Discretion -
One
of the four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful. Discretion takes
Christian in and feeds him.

Piety -
One
of the four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful. Piety asks Christian
about his journey so far.

Prudence -
One
of the four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful. Prudence tries to
understand Christian’s purpose in traveling to Mount Zion.

Charity -
One
of the four mistresses of the Palace Beautiful. Charity asks Christian
why he did not bring his family, which causes him to weep.

The Interpreter -
Spiritual guide who shelters Christian. The Interpreter
instructs Christian in the art of reading religious meanings hidden
in everyday objects and events, which he houses in his Significant
Rooms.

Shining Ones -
Three
celestial creatures who clothe Christian with new garments and give
him the certificate. The Shining Ones act as guardians throughout
Christian’s journey.

Faithful -
Fellow
pilgrim from Christian’s hometown who reports on the city they both
left behind. Faithful loyally accompanies Christian until he is
executed in the town of Vanity for the crime of disrespecting the local
Satan-worshipping religion.

Talkative -
Fellow
pilgrim who travels alongside Christian and Faithful for a while.
Talkative is spurned by Christian for valuing spiritual words over
religious deeds.

Mr. By-ends -
A
user of religion for personal ends and social profit. Mr. By-ends
accompanies Christian briefly after Christian escapes from Vanity.

Hopeful -
Pilgrim
who replaces Faithful as Christian’s travel companion and confidant
after leaving Vanity, all the way to the Celestial City. Hopeful
saves Christian’s life in the river before the gates to Mount Zion.

Giant Despair -
Master
of the Doubting Castle. Giant Despair imprisons Hopeful and Christian
for trespassing on his domain and is later killed by Great-heart
and Christiana’s sons.

Diffidence -
Giant
Despair’s wife. She encourages the harsh punishment of Hopeful and
Christian in the Doubting Castle.

Demas -
Gentlemanly
figure who tries to entice Christian and Hopeful with silver and
dreams of wealth.

Temporary -
A
would-be pilgrim whom Christian speaks of in a cautionary way, warning
of Temporary’s backsliding before his spiritual progress was complete.

Part II

Sagacity -
An
elderly man who visits the narrator in his dream. After the narrator
asks after Christian’s family, Sagacity offers to take the narrator’s
place as the storyteller and recount Christiana’s journey.

Christiana -
Christian’s
wife and the titular pilgrim in Part II. As a spiritual voyager
and a guide to her children, Christiana shows remarkable strength
and resilience on the journey.

More Help

I would take a certain issue with the observation that Bunyan invokes his own imprisonment when he writes about the man in the iron cage. Certainly Bunyan would have been sensitive to the idea of imprisonment, and this sensitivity could very well have emboldened his passion to warn others of the unwanted consequences of certain behaviors, but I believe there the similarity ends. Bunyan had been imprisoned for preaching the gospel without an official sanction from the religious establishment of the day; the unjust result of extreme obedienc

The characters are very important in establishing the journey. It also dramatic irony in some cases, for instance when Christian talks to the worldly wise man- you know that he will lead him away from his current journey because you understand his name (or label) in context.